The present invention relates to dental hygiene appliances, and particularly toothbrushes equipped to apply radiation to tooth surfaces.
It has been proposed in the art to equip a toothbrush with a light source which can illuminate the region being brushed. The purpose of such devices is to aid the brushing operation by better illuminating the portion of the teeth being brushed. A device of this type is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,779,173, where the toothbrush bristles are plastic filaments which conduct radiation from a light source in the handle of the brush. This patent also discloses earlier prior art including a dental cleaning apparatus in which the head portion or bristle holding portion is eliminated.
It is also known in the art that laser radiation can have a variety of beneficial effects on teeth.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,030,090 discloses a tooth brush having a bundle of bristles constituted by optical fibers which are coupled to a semiconductor laser. The fibers constitute the bristles of the toothbrush. This patent discloses that the radiation produced by a semiconductor laser can be used for treating or preventing gingivitis and other oral diseases, and specifically can serve to reduce pain and inflammation and to improve blood circulation.
One of the characteristics of the device as disclosed in the above-cited patents is that they employ filaments which are capable of functioning as both optical fibers and brushing bristles. One problem with devices of this type is that filaments which are capable of functioning as optical fibers can not be given the mechanical characteristics required to permit them to function in an optimum manner as brushing bristles. In particular, if the filaments must be fabricated to function as optical fibers, it will prove difficult to give them the durability desired for brushing bristles.